Lighting & Visibility

Most of the skills assume that the characters are in a well illuminated
place. However, very few dungeons and caverns have many natural light
sources. Depending upon the race of the character, the source of lighting,
and her distance from it, certain skills could become far more difficult.
These modifiers and additional rules should be used whenever the characters are
not in optimal lighting conditions.

No player race can see in absolute darkness. Any sealed area without
any light will effectively blind every PC unless they have some sort of magical
vision. Races with night-vision require at least a small amount of light,
equivalent to starlight, to see.

This light must remain in line of sight of the character to be
effective. In other words the light emanating from the light source must
radiate far enough to be seen by the PC. If the light stops just short of
a bend in the passage. No light will radiate around that corner for the
character to use for night-vision. Even then they will not be able to see
as well as they would with moonlight or sunlight.

Consult the table below to determine the current relative lighting that the
characters are adventuring with. For incandescent (man-made) sources this is the distance
from the light source. Those with night-vision should add their
night-vision range to the listed value.

Incandescent Source

Bright

Dim

Shadowy

Dark

Blind

Candle

under 6"

6" to 7.5'

7.6' to 12.5'

12.6' to 17.6'

17.6' +

Torch / Oil Lamp

under 2.5'

2.5' to 12.5'

12.6' to 17.5'

17.6' to 22.5'

22.6' +

Campfire (3-5' diameter)

under 2.5'

2.5' to 15'

15' to 25'

26' to 40'

41' +

Create Light Spell

under 7.5'

7.5' to 17.5'

17.6' to 22.5'

22.6' to 27.5'

27.6' +

Daylight Spell

under 50'

50' to 75'

76' to 80'

80 to 85'

86' +

Natural, or omni-present, sources will always
have constant conditions. Check under the appropriate heading to determine
the current quality of vision for the character based on her night-vision
range. Adding a pinpoint source to an omni-present source will increase
the vision level to the brightest allowed between the two. Overhead cover
and inclement weather conditions should lower the source's brightness level.

Natural Source

Level of Outside Lighting from
Moon or other Celestial Objects

Racial Night-vision (in ft)

Starlight

1/4 Moon

Half Moon

3/4 Moon

Full Moon

00 - 04

Dark

Dark

Shadowy

Shadowy

Dim

05 - 19

Dark

Shadowy

Shadowy

Shadowy

Bright

20 - 59

Shadowy

Shadowy

Shadowy

Dim

Bright

60 - 99

Shadowy

Shadowy

Dim

Bright

Bright

100 - 110

Shadowy

Dim

Bright

Bright

Bright

111 - 119

Dim

Dim

Bright

Bright

Bright

120 - 129

Dim

Bright

Bright

Bright

Bright

130 +

Bright

Bright

Bright

Bright

Bright

Bright Conditions are identical to daytime in sunlight. There
are no penalties in bright conditions, and small details can be noticed up
to the appropriate vision in feet. Bright conditions includes well-lit
buildings at night, most structures during the day, and a few powerful
spells.

Dim Conditions are rarely seen during the day. Barely enough
to read by, dim conditions have a penalty of -10 to most skills.
Well-lit streets and public areas, adequately lit buildings at night, and
darker corners of buildings during daytime hours all fit dim conditions.

Shadowy Conditions are those just at the edge of the light.
Easy to hide in, difficult to peer through, and becoming increasingly
difficult to navigate. Most actions in shadowy conditions have a
penalty of -25. Anyone wishing to move faster than a walk must roll a
full agility check without penalty. Failure means that the character
tripped, while a critical failure sprains a leg. The victim may not
run until healed naturally.

Dark Conditions have only a hint of light remaining. Well
past the shadows, in the dark even the most well adjusted eyes can only see
a few inches. Most skills and actions have a penalty of - 40 due to
the difficult seeing anything. Moving faster than a run requires a
quarter agility roll to keep from tripping. Failure means that the
character tripped, while a critical failure sprains a leg. The victim
may not run until healed naturally.

Blind. There is no light for the character to see by.
Most skills and actions have a penalty of -80 as the character fumbles
around trying to feel what she is doing. Any character stupid enough
to try moving faster than a walk deserves what they get.

When switching from one level of lighting to another it will take any
character a few rounds to adjust their eyes. Those expecting and prepared
for the change in lighting will only require 1d10/5 actions. Those with
night-vision above 40' will only require 1d10/5 rounds. All others will
require 1d10/2 rounds for their eyes to re-adjust to their new
surroundings. While adjusting to the change in illumination, all
characters suffer as if they were in shadowy conditions.